Helmet saved my life

LUCKY to be alive: Savannah, holding the mangled remains of her helmet.

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A SCHOOLGIRL owes her life to a cycle helmet after a car ran over her head when she fell into the road.

Savannah Haworth, of Helmshore, fell into the path of a moving car when she tumbled from her bike while cycling home from school.

The shocking picture, above, shows what remains of her helmet after the car’s tyre rolled over her arm and then her head.

The 11-year-old and her parents are now urging others to wear cycle helmets while riding, as they fear the outcome could have been much worse.

Dad Harvey, of Riverside Walk, said: ‘Without her helmet Savannah would have ended up with serious head injuries or would have been killed.

‘She’s been a very lucky girl.’

The youngster, who has made a startling recovery, was travelling back from Helmshore Primary School after taking part in her third cycling proficiency class when the accident happened.

She said: ‘I was going down the hill on Helmshore Road and some pedestrians were walking the other way.

‘I moved to the side for them and, as I was doing this, I clipped the wall with my right handlebar; that flung me, the wheel went around and hit the wall and threw me into the road and into the car.’

The car, which was travelling slowly, rolled over Savannah’s arm and then head, crushing the helmet and knocking her unconscious.

Passers-by, including a nurse, rushed to help the young cyclist and, when she came around, she blurted out her name, the first line of her address and her home phone number. Harvey, who rushed to the scene, near St Thomas’ Church, said: ‘When I saw the road was blocked I realised it was a little bit more serious than I’d thought.

‘Several people were looking after her; when I got there and realised she was compos mentis it was a massive relief. She had a big lump on her head and parts of the helmet were still on her head.’

Savannah was taken to Royal Blackburn Hospital where X-rays revealed that, incredibly, not a bone in her body had been broken.

Her elbow was swollen and she had bruises on her face where her head had been pushed into the road. The full scale of the impact was only realised when medics cut off her jumper and found a tyre imprinted on the inside of her sleeve.

The sports fan was released from hospital after just 24 hours and was back in school, with a plaster cast on her arm, the following Monday; that same week she went to Scout camp with 43rd Rossendale Scouts.

Action girl Savannah also counts membership of Rossendale Harriers, swimming for Haslingden Swimming Club and skiing among her hobbies; she is set to play Patty Simcox in her school’s version of Grease.

She said: ‘My friends were really shocked and the teachers were shocked that I was back in school so soon. I showed my helmet in assembly to warn of the dangers and everyone’s now saying they’ll wear their helmets.’

Harvey, his wife Gillian and son Max, eight, paid tribute to those who helped Savannah and said they wanted to reassure the driver that the accident was not in any way his fault.

Harvey added: ‘We want to thank all the people who stopped and helped because we don’t know who they are. We also want this to show how important it is to wear a cycle helmet.’